Strategies of maintaining the natural purification potential of rivers and lakes

Surface waters have a great impact on ecology and life of man. Because of their current use and exploitation, chemical and biological pollution, as well as physical changes of rivers and lakes are common. Natural self-purification potential helps to compensate harms to a certain degree. Proposals are given to detect restrictions of the purification potential in time as well as to support and to enhance the natural purification potential.     

Recycling and utilization of metabolic wastes for energy production is an index of biochemical adaptation of fish under environmental pollution stress

The activity levels of lactate dehydrogenase andlactic acid were assessed in various tissues of the fishduring exposure to lethal concentration of group-IIPyrethroids (deltamethrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate andfluvalinate) for a period of 72 hours. The results showedsteady increased levels in all the tissues (blood,muscle, brain and liver) with response patterncharacteristic of their own. The increased LDH activityand lactic acid levels indicate the shifting of aerobicglycolysis to anaerobiosis and its further utilizationfor energy production during adaptation to toxic stress.     

Experiences with unexpected structural chromosome aberrations in prenatal diagnosis in a danish series

The investigation of 5547 prenatal diagnoses showed 31 unexpected structural chromosome rearrangements. These included 3 Robertsonian translocations, 14 reciprocal translocations and 14 inversions. A11 were balanced, including 5 de novo rearrangements. In 3 of these cases an induced abortion was performed and in 2 cases children without detectable malformations were delivered.     

Eco-Labelling of Shampoos,Shower Gels and Foam Baths (6 pp)

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Environmental issues of personal care products have been met with little attention in the past. Monitoring data as well as preliminary environmental risk assessments indicate that some ingredients in personal care products might be relevant pollutants in the environment. Following the precautionary principle, eco-labelling is proposed as an effective tool for source control of one major group of personal care products, shampoos, shower gels and foam baths (SSBs). Eco-labelling is a soft, but effective market driven and product specific approach to lower discharge of environmentally detrimental substances. Products that fulfil the criteria proposed help to minimise the impact of SSBs on the environment. METHODS: Available assessment tools for dangerous substances (e.g. current legislation on environmental risk assessments and classification, and labelling, eco-labelling criteria for similar products, the calculation of the critical dilution volume) were adapted and integrated into the criteria for the eco-labelling of SSBs. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A short outline of the eco-labelling criteria developed for SSBs is provided. The basic criteria concern the effects of the substances discharged into the waste water during and after use. Products with an eco-label award may exclusively contain substances for which basic information about their effects on the environment is available. They may not contain persistent, bioaccumulating, toxic or ecotoxicological substances. In addition, the basic criteria include requirements for the container and consumer information. CONCLUSION: The basic criteria for eco-labelling SSBs are based on the actual state of science and are at the same time as simple and transparent as possible to ensure the best applicability. SSBs that comply with the described basic criteria can contribute to a lower chemical burden of waste water treatment plants and surface water. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: The proposal for basic criteria described should stimulate discussion on eco-labelling of SSBs. It should help to pass valid criteria supported by authorities, producers and consumer groups for a national or international eco-label, e.g. for the European Flower or the German Blue Angel. In future, the successful introduction of labelled SSBs into the market will raise the awareness of the general public about the environmental effects of personal care products and it will help to promote environmentally compatible products.     

High-field 1H T1 and T2 NMR relaxation time measurements of H2O in homeopathic preparations of quartz, sulfur, and copper sulfate

Quantitative meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials investigating the specific therapeutic efficacy of homeopathic remedies yielded statistically significant differences compared to placebo. Since the remedies used contained mostly only very low concentrations of pharmacologically active compounds, these effects cannot be accounted for within the framework of current pharmacology. Theories to explain clinical effects of homeopathic remedies are partially based upon changes in diluent structure. To investigate the latter, we measured for the first time high-field (600/500 MHz) ¹H T₁ and T₂ nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times of H₂O in homeopathic preparations with concurrent contamination control by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Homeopathic preparations of quartz (10c–30c, n = 21, corresponding to iterative dilutions of 100⁻¹⁰–100⁻³⁰), sulfur (13x–30x, n = 18, 10⁻¹³–10⁻³⁰), and copper sulfate (11c–30c, n = 20, 100⁻¹¹–100⁻³⁰) were compared to n = 10 independent controls each (analogously agitated dilution medium) in randomized and blinded experiments. In none of the samples, the concentration of any element analyzed by ICP-MS exceeded 10 ppb. In the first measurement series (600 MHz), there was a significant increase in T₁ for all samples as a function of time, and there were no significant differences between homeopathic potencies and controls. In the second measurement series (500 MHz) 1 year after preparation, we observed statistically significant increased T₁ relaxation times for homeopathic sulfur preparations compared to controls. Fifteen out of 18 correlations between sample triplicates were higher for controls than for homeopathic preparations. No conclusive explanation for these phenomena can be given at present. Possible hypotheses involve differential leaching from the measurement vessel walls or a change in water molecule dynamics, i.e., in rotational correlation time and/or diffusion. Homeopathic preparations thus may exhibit specific physicochemical properties that need to be determined in detail in future investigations. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A new challenge—development of test systems for the infochemical effect

Background, aim, and scope

Many—if not all—organisms depend on so-called infochemicals, chemical substances in their surroundings which inform the receivers about their biotic and abiotic environment and which allow them to react adequately to these signals. Anthropogenic substances can interfere with this complex chemical communication system. This finding is called infochemical effect. So far, it is not known to what extent anthropogenic discharges act as infochemicals and influence life and reproduction of organisms in the environment because adequate testing methods to identify chemicals which show the infochemical effect and to quantify their effects have not been developed yet. The purpose of this article is to help and find suitable test designs.

Main features

Test systems used in basic research to elucidate the olfactory cascade and the communication of environmental organisms by infochemicals are plentiful. Some of them might be the basis for a quantified ecotoxicological analysis of the infochemical effect. In principle, test systems for the infochemical effect could be developed at each step of the chemosensory signal transduction and processing cascade.

Results

Experimental set-ups were compiled systematically under the aspect whether they might be usable for testing the infochemical effect of single chemicals in standardized quantifying laboratory experiments. For an appropriate ecotoxicological assessment of the infochemical effect, experimental studies of many disciplines, such as molecular biology, neurobiology, physiology, chemical ecology, and population dynamics, should be evaluated in detail before a decision can be made which test system, respectively which test battery, might be suited best. The test systems presented here are based on the knowledge of the genetic sequences for olfactory receptors, binding studies of odorants, signal transmission, and reactions of the receivers on the level of the organisms or the populations. The following basic approaches are conceivable to identify the role of an infochemical: binding studies to the odorant-binding protein or to the odorant receptor binding protein (e.g., by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical studies), measurement of electrical signals of the receptor cells in the tissue (e.g., electroolfactograms, electroantennograms), registration of phenotypic changes (e.g., observation under the microscope), behavioral tests (e.g., in situ online biomonitoring, use of T-shaped olfactometers, tests of avoidance responses), measurement of population changes (e.g., cell density or turbidity measurements), and multispecies tests with observation of community structure and community function. The main focus of this study is on aquatic organisms.

Discussion

It is evident that the infochemical effect is a very complex sublethal endpoint, and it needs further studies with standardized quantitative methods to elucidate whether and to what extent the ecosystem is affected. The collection of approaches presented here is far from being complete but should serve as a point of depart for further experimental research.

Conclusions

This article is the first to compare various approaches for testing the infochemical effect. The development of a suitable test system will not be easy as there are a multitude of relevant chemicals, a multitude of relevant receptors, and a multitude of relevant reactions, and it must be expected that the effective concentrations are very low. The chemical communication is of utmost importance for the ecosystem and justifies great endeavors to find solutions to these technical problems.

Recommendations and perspectives

The infochemical effect is a new chapter in ecotoxicology. Will a new endpoint, the so-called infochemical effect, be required in addition to the actual standard test battery of Annex 5 to Commission Directive 92/69/EEC (EC 1992)? Finding the answer to this question is a big challenge that could be met by a comprehensive research project.     

Changes in acidity and cation pools of south Swedish soils between 1949 and 1985

The pH of south Swedish soils have decreased considerably during the last 15–35 years. The decrease has occurred throughout the soil profile, not only in the rhizosphere, and is particularly marked in the originally less acid soils. The pH decrease was accompanied by considerable losses of exchangeable Na, K, Mg and Ca, as well as of Zn and (in the originally less acid soils) of Mn. The changes can be prognosticated from the current relationship between soil pH and base saturation and from budget calculations based on lysimeter data.